In what the newspaper calls an "unprecedented step," The
Telegraph was given a document by the advisers that addresses
concerns from the West about issues like human rights and the
role of women in Saudi society, as well as setting out future
governmental programmes.

Saudi Arabia's royal family has undergone a major overhaul since
the death of ruler King Abdullah in January. Abdullah was
replaced by Salman, who has put in place a series of changes to
the way Saudi Arabia's succession plans work.

Regardless of whether the rumours are true, the leak appears to
suggest that Saudi Arabia's rulers are trying to quash any
possible plans and to set about modernising the country.

Business Insider was unable to obtain the entirety of the leaked
document, but here are some choice extracts of what the Saudi
government has to say on various topics, as first featured by The
Telegraph:

The document suggests there is a desire for modernisation
from Saudi citizens — "The media is talking about a crisis within
the royal family but they forget to talk to the Saudi people who
are thirsty for change and economic reform. People want a
'remake' of the Kingdom on new foundations that will make it a
major economic power, and this will not happen without a
shake-up."

It acknowledges that the government is partly to blame for
international criticism of the role of women in Saudi society —
"The Saudi women issue has become a global issue of public
opinion and it seems that we have lost a lot in this case (in
terms of public opinion), (but this) was fair, because we did not
improve the way we managed that issue."

The document says the Saudi
authorities' attitudes to women had been held back by "heritage
and popular tradition."

But it says things are improving — "We have come a long way
and cannot just underestimate efforts made in the last few years
in enhancing the role of women in society and give them the
rights they deserve."

The government says it is now willing to "open the doors of
the kingdom to international committees and human rights
organizations."

One area in which the government is unrepentant is
the sentencing to death of the al-Nimrs, a case that has
garnered huge international attention — "The al-Nimr family
members pursued violence and attacks on security forces and
government facilities beside terrorising civilians, hooliganism
and vandalism ... It is a clear criminal act that led to
murders of police officers."

The document added "We have all the rights to maintain safety
and security of our citizens and we cannot understand the demands
to make it go unpunished."

It did say, however, that it "understands Britain's position"
on the matter. Numerous petitions have launched in the UK to try
to force the release of the men.